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"When I say ‘the club’, I say the football team and what surrounds the football team was in trouble, big trouble. Not the club at all. Because the club is much more than results — it’s the fanbase. It’s the passion around the world, it’s the business, it’s the commercial, it’s the merchandising.

"And a club like Manchester United as a club can be one, two, three, four, five, ten years without winning. Manchester United will always be Manchester United and as a club will never be in trouble.

“The football team I think clearly there was an evolution in other clubs, and that was quite an empty period in this club with no evolution in areas that are important for the football team.

“And that was the first step to try to bring the football team in the right direction.”